Gray Fox?

[grouseking]

I'm pretty sure I saw one of those today around 10am, at my apt complex in Lebanon. I saw it up close (25-30 feet away), and we briefly made eye contact before it darted down the hill into a nearby swamp. At first I was a bit nervous because I thought it was a coyote, till I saw the big bushy tail. The fox moved way too fast for me to get a picture, even if I had the camera. Still, it was a great experience.

In the past I'll I've seen are the red foxes, and exclusively at night. I was wondering what the populations of Gray Foxes are around here....if they are common? I thought they were more common further south, but I could be wrong.

grouseking

 

[woodsxc]

Did you notice if it had black "socks" on the lower legs? If not, then it was a gray fox. I've never seen one, but from pictures it looks like a coyote coat on a fox body.

As I recall, foxes are really little, even compared to coyotes, so if it was the right size for a fox but looked like a coyote, you've got yourself a gray fox.

 

[forestgnome]

Eastern Coyotes do have bushy tails. This female was in the Gulf of Slides...

http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=18617&highlight=coyote+gulf+slides



A freind has photographed a family of grey foxes in North Conway.


Sounds like you had a great moment! I like little mystery encounters like that.

happy trails

 

[sardog1]

A few facts and photos at Gray fox -- Urocyon cinereoargenteus from NHPTV.

And way more than anyone should want to know at COSEWIC Assessment and Update Status Report on the Grey Fox Urocyon cinereoargenteus in Canada.

I've seen them only a few times. They're famous for climbing trees and loving fruit.

 

[Stan]

I've seen a gray fox twice in Mashpee on Cape Cod. These sitings were years apart but at the same location, in the morning while I was fixin' breakfast. It had a certain route and was passing through on a mission.

No mistaking, it was a fox and it was gray. Surely, not a fox in socks either.

 

[grouseking]

Ooh yeah, it was def a Gray Fox...now that I've been able to see the photos on line. When it ran away, it lowered its body and charged off down the hill into the swamp.

Forestgnome, I'm still amazed that you were able to get those pics of that coyote. The biggest difference between my fox and your coyote was the face, and perhaps size of the tail. The fox had one of the biggest tails I've ever seen. I really wish I could have taken a pic. Oh well, I'll always remember seeing it.

grouseking

 

[grouseking]

A few facts and photos at Gray fox -- Urocyon cinereoargenteus from NHPTV.

And way more than anyone should want to know at COSEWIC Assessment and Update Status Report on the Grey Fox Urocyon cinereoargenteus in Canada.

I've seen them only a few times. They're famous for climbing trees and loving fruit.

Thanks for those links! I liked the Canadian study...lots of relevant info! Looks like we are on the northern range of where these foxes live. I also noticed that bobcats pray on them. When the snow melted, it revealed a dead bobcat along the road behind my apartment...which happened to be right near a dead deer too. Looks like I live in the crossroads of a healthy ecosystem. (hopefully )

 

[Mattl]

I guess I missed him yesterday here, ill keep my eye out Grouse

 

[dentonfabrics]

Grey fox are the coolest animals. Two years ago, we were sitting out on the deck reading the Sunday papers when we spied a grey fox and her two pups at the edge of our lawn, about 10 yards away. We stared at each other, motionless, for a full minute, until they turned and loped back into the forest.

My guess is they were denning in the area because that year, we had an inordinate amount of chipmunks on our property. And about a week after that fox sighting, I noticed that all of the chipmunks had disappeared. Very cool animals.

 

[sardog1]

For the benefit of those who might not dig into the Canadian report linked above, here's an excerpt on distinguishing grey foxes from Reynard:

"Urocyon cinereoargenteus (Fig. 1) is similar in appearance to the cross phase of
the red fox (Vulpes vulpes); however, there are a number of characteristics that make it
possible to reliably differentiate the two species. The grey fox has a dark longitudinal
stripe, made up of coarse black-tipped hairs, running the length of its back and tail
(Fritzell and Haroldson 1982). The sides and back of its pelage are grizzled grey,
caused by individual guard hairs being banded with black, grey and white, and the
underfur is buffy (Banfield 1974; Fritzell and Haroldson 1982). There is white fur on the
ears, face, throat, chest, belly and hind legs (Fritzell and Haroldson 1982), but the tail is
black-tipped, in contrast to the red fox's, which is white-tipped (Baker 1983). Parts of the
grey fox's neck, sides and limbs are a cinnamon-rufous colour (Fritzell and Haroldson
1982). There is a distinctive black muzzle patch in front of each eye and on the lower
jaw. The grey fox has shorter legs than the red fox, although it is of a similar mass. The
grey fox has a shorter muzzle, rounder footprints, larger toe pads and more curved
claws than the red fox (Banfield 1974). The grey fox has a tail gland that extends onethird
to one-half the length of its tail, making it the largest of the North American
Canidae (Seton 1923). Newborn grey foxes are blackish in colour whereas red fox kits
resemble domestic pups with white-tipped tails (Peterson 1966). There are usually six
mammae instead of eight as in the red fox (Piérard 1983). The grey fox is less vocal,
and has a less intense and lower pitched call than the red fox (Peterson 1966).
The tracks of the grey fox are shorter and broader than those of the red fox.
Spacing between grey fox prints is also slightly closer than between red fox prints. Grey
fox tracks look very similar to domestic cat (Felis catus) tracks except that claw marks
show in those of a grey fox (Fritzell 1987)."

The cross fox color phase of the red fox is shown nicely at The Fox -- All Creatures Great and Small. The cross fox is the one leaping down onto some prey animal. There's also a good grey fox photo, lower on the page, for comparison.